Senior Reflections Week 18 January 2025
Dear parents,
It has been a poignant week with Holocaust Memorial Day on Monday offering us a chance to reflect on the lessons learnt from the Holocaust and other atrocities. This week we have had special assemblies for the fifth and sixth forms, and pupils showed reflection and thoughtfulness in listening carefully and considering the messages that were being shared. Mrs Ridler-Murray’s Middle Fifth assembly focused on the book, The Boy Who Drew Auschwitz, by Thomas Geve. The assembly included images from the book and pupils reading extracts which painted a powerful image of a story of hope and survival. I am sure that the pupils found it compelling, and that it showed many parallels with the story that we heard from Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich, who we heard from in last week’s Holocaust survivor livestream interview, from the Holocaust Memorial Trust.
Miss Rose’s assembly took the Upper Fifth and sixth form further afield and to a more recent period in history, focusing on the genocide in the Killing Fields in Cambodia and the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge against the Cambodian people. Focusing on this more recent episode in history, in a part of the world that perhaps our leavers might be considering visiting in their gap year travels, reframed the Holocaust and left the pupils with much to consider about the importance of the global community in intervening and protecting nations that are at risk. You might find the following resources, designed especially for schools, useful if you wish to discuss this important issue with your children.
The Holocaust Explained The Holocaust Educational Trust
Duke Of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE)
It was wonderful to see a packed house in the Andrew’s Hall as Lower Fifth pupils and their parents heard about the bronze DofE award and the programme that is on offer for them this year. The expedition section is a great introduction to the outdoors and I am sure that lots of pupils will be keen to sign up and start developing their navigation, campcraft and team working skills. Of course, the DofE is more than just hiking – it includes a physical exercise section, skills development and also volunteering. All in all, a great way for the pupils to learn something new, put themselves out of their comfort zones and also develop their character. You can read more about it here.
Wren James
Author Wren James was in school on Tuesday, meeting with pupils in the library and presenting specifically to the Fourth Form and Lower Fifth. It is always great to welcome authors to talk about their work and inspire the pupils to read more. Wren’s books have sold over 200,000 copies worldwide and are available in eight languages. They cover a range of themes and have been shortlisted for a number of prizes, including the Carnegie Prize, YA Book Prize and STEAM Children’s Book Award. Many thanks to Mr Tim Halpin, librarian, for arranging the visit. You can read more about Wren’s work here.
Careers Convention
The careers convention on Wednesday was a great opportunity for pupils of all ages (and their parents) to learn more about next steps after school and we were delighted to have such a wide range of professions and universities here to share their expertise and inspire pupils to find out more. It is never too early to consider what the next steps might be for the girls and boys and I hope that they found it both useful and interesting. Many thanks to Mrs Mel Szender, careers pathway advisor, for putting the whole event together.
Upper Fifth parents evening
It was a pleasure to welcome parents of the Upper Fifth to school for their parents’ evening on Thursday. This year group has been impressive in their industrious approach and positive mindset towards the recent trial GCSE exams and this meeting was an opportunity for families to consider what has gone well, and to put together some targets and plans to ensure success in the final exams in the summer term. Considering next steps and choices for A Levels is also an inevitable part of such an evening and I hope that pupils found their discussions with teachers helpful in considering subject options and possible careers and higher education routes beyond. As ever, if you have concerns about your child’s progress that were not addressed at the meeting, please do contact your son or daughter’s tutor in the first instance.
Winter Ball
This evening sees the Family Society hosting our first Winter Ball for the sixth form. Pupils have excitedly been practising their ceilidh dancing and making snowflake decorations to transform the main hall into a winter wonderland and we hope that they all have a fabulous time tonight. Many thanks to Miss Bethan Rose and all those who have helped to make this happen.
Strategic planning
As part of our rolling strategic planning, the board and members of the leadership group will be working on strategy later this term. In order to hear the views of parents, we will be sending out a questionnaire on Monday 3 February, which should only take a few minutes of your time. Please look out for this and we look forward to hearing your views. Following this, on Tuesday 11 February there will be a parent forum giving you the opportunity to contribute to this through a facilitated discussion. Details of this will be included within the email sending you the questionnaire link on Monday. We appreciate your contributions as we plan for the future together.
This weekend we have assessments in school for the junior school and we wish all the candidates every success. If you are bringing a prospective pupil along, I look forward to seeing you here and for all our sports people, we wish the girls success in their netball against Plymouth College and the boys success against Mount Kelly in the hockey.
And finally, on Wednesday it was Lunar New Year. We wish all in our community a happy Year of the Snake.
Have a lovely weekend.
